14: Identity
On the day of the forest hunt, golden sunlight tinted the greenery, chasing away the mist and scattering the clouds.
Early in the morning, Zhou Shu had already tied her hair into a high bun, dressed in men’s attire. To avoid raising suspicion, she had even spent a long time using cosmetics to tone down her naturally bright and beautiful features.
At that moment, she took Qiao Shili’s hand—who had just finished freshening up—and asked repeatedly, “Do I look convincing? Do I?”
She tilted her jade-like face, a hint of nervousness in her expression, clearly asking whether she resembled a man.
Although Zhou Shu often disguised herself as a man, participating in a royal event like the forest hunt was a first for her. Rather than being anxious about being exposed, Qiao Shili noticed that she was clearly thrilled at the chance to showcase her skills in the hunt.
So, Qiao Shili played along teasingly, “Young Master Zhou, if you keep holding my hand like this, people might get the wrong idea.”
“I won’t tease you anymore,” Zhou Shu said, her face breaking into a bright smile as she glanced out the window. “I think it’s about time. I should go now. When we reach the hunting grounds, I’ll come find you.”
Qiao Shili nodded in acknowledgment. After Zhou Shu left, she finally took out the letter delivered by Fenglai the previous night.
The message on the letter was brief: South of the hunting grounds tomorrow.
It seemed Su Zhuoguang had identified the assassin, but he hadn’t explicitly stated it in the letter, likely because she was sharing a room with Zhou Shu. If he had laid out the entire situation in writing and Zhou Shu happened to see it, Qiao Shili wouldn’t have been able to explain it easily.
After all, matters involving the Eastern Palace and the framing of the prime minister’s daughter were shocking enough on their own.
Qiao Shili put away the letter just as Qiuying entered the room, bringing breakfast.
“Miss, this lotus seed soup was specially ordered by His Highness for you.”
Qiao Shili had initially felt somewhat hungry, but upon hearing it was Qin Shuo’s doing, she waved her hand dismissively in annoyance. “I’m not hungry right now. Take it away.”
Qiuying looked puzzled. “Miss, have you and His Highness had a disagreement recently?”
As her personal maid, how could she not notice the change in her mistress’s attitude toward the Crown Prince?
“Qiuying, from now on, if His Highness sends anything, refuse it whenever possible. If it can’t be refused, let me handle it.”
Qiao Shili gave her instructions, and seeing Qiuying’s confused expression, she sighed softly. “I won’t be marrying into the Eastern Palace, and His Highness is not the right man for me. As my personal maid, you should understand what I mean.”
She needed to distance herself from Qin Shuo, and that included reminding those close to her.
Qiuying was naturally clever and perceptive. Seeing Qiao Shili’s resolute expression, she understood without needing further explanation. It must be that His Highness did something that completely broke Miss’s heart. If that’s the case, as her maid, she must stand with her mistress.
Later, when Qiuying carried the lotus seed soup out of the room, she saw the Crown Prince’s servant still waiting and handed it back, saying, “Please return this.”
The young eunuch looked troubled. “But…”
Qiuying said, “If you’re unsure how to report back, please convey this to His Highness: My young lady used to enjoy lotus seed soup, but one day she realized the lotus seeds were bitter, their cores rotten, which caused her severe stomach pain and illness for several days. Since then, she has not touched lotus seed soup.”
This message was exactly what Qiao Shili had instructed her to relay.
Somewhere in the temporary palace, Qin Shuo stood with his hands clasped behind his back under the eaves. His posture was haughty, his gaze heavy, looking down upon everything around him, making the eunuch kneeling before him tremble in fear.
“So, I am that lotus seed soup?”
Qin Shuo glanced at the food tray before him, the frustration that had been building in his chest for days growing harder to suppress. He couldn’t understand why Qiao Shili had suddenly become so distant. Thinking back carefully, the only recent conflict between them was the incident involving that woman from the Fang family.
“Your Highness…” Seeing Qin Shuo on the verge of an outburst, Eunuch Jiude hurried forward, hoping to calm him down.
But contrary to expectations, he managed to calm himself and turned to Eunuch Jiude with a question. “Has that woman from the Fang family come to Mount Jiunu?”
After a moment’s thought, Eunuch Jiude replied, “Yes, she has, but this time I haven’t seen her accompanying Miss Qiao.”
“So Shili is throwing a tantrum with me because of her…” Qin Shuo muttered under his breath, a shadow of ruthlessness flickering in his eyes. “Find an excuse to send that Fang woman down the mountain.”
Eunuch Jiude was taken aback. “But that young lady is still an official’s daughter…”
Qin Shuo sneered coldly. “Trying to ruin my relationship with Shili, plotting and scheming—what’s the use of keeping her? She should be thankful she’s an official’s daughter. If she were a maid, I’d have taken her life already.”
Meanwhile, as Qiao Shili left the temporary palace with Qiuying, she spotted a familiar figure standing under the sun-drenched corridor in the distance—Fenglai.
Fenglai approached and respectfully bowed. “My young master was concerned you might get lost, Miss Qiao, so he sent me to escort you.”
Hearing this, Qiao Shili couldn’t help but recall the events of the previous night.
Back then, she had been too overwhelmed with fear, terrified that the supervisory censor, Ji Chen, would uncover her identity and expose her, which made her overlook the embarrassing misunderstanding that should have mortified her.
How did she dare mistake that great iceberg as her instructor? Riding on the same horse, pressed closely together? Even thinking that the famous warhorse Yefeng was ‘gentle’… Did she think she had nine lives like a cat to mess around like that?
She felt her breath catch. Even now, remembering it made her blush with shame. The only reason she had to meet Su Zhuoguang again was for the sake of her own life. If this had happened in her past life, just the recent series of events with Su Zhuoguang would have been enough to make her retreat home, too embarrassed to show her face for at least ten days to half a month.
“Isn’t Young General Su participating in the forest hunt competition?” Qiao Shili suddenly remembered that today’s main event was the hunting competition. The fact that Su Zhuoguang had skipped it for her sake filled her with guilt.
A man as brave and skilled in battle as he, finally having a chance to showcase his talents in an area he excels in—and yet she held him back. She felt the weight of the debt she owed him grow heavier.
Fenglai explained, “Everyone is rushing into the hunting grounds, each with their own horse. Combined, the scene would be far too noisy for my master’s liking.”
Qiao Shili: “…”
Her guilt vanished instantly. I overestimated him—he simply doesn’t care about standing out.
Of course. The young General Su, famous from a young age with countless military achievements—why would he care about winning first place in a royal hunt?
When Su Zhuoguang appeared among the scattered flowers and dense trees, fragmented shadows dappled his dark indigo brocade robe with shifting patches of light. He was leading a white horse, a sword in one hand, the sharp aura about him unmistakable.
Qiao Shili noticed this horse wasn’t Yefeng. Its head hung low, and its steps were cautious, unlike Yefeng’s unrestrained energy.
As she approached him, she couldn’t help but ask, “Where’s Yefeng?”
“Tied up,” Su Zhuoguang replied, handing the reins to Qiao Shili. “Try this one.”
With Su Zhuoguang’s assistance, Qiao Shili mounted the horse on her own. This horse was indeed much easier to handle than Yefeng, and she quickly got the hang of controlling its direction and speed.
As they ventured deeper into the forest, Qiao Shili glanced at Su Zhuoguang, who remained by her side, and felt a surge of gratitude. He still remembers that she’s learning to ride.
“Where did Young General Su find such a gentle horse?”
“I found it,” Su Zhuoguang answered without hesitation.
Qiao Shili: “?”
Found it? She might not be able to distinguish horse breeds, but the horse’s elegant tack made it clear this wasn’t an ordinary horse raised by common folk.
Of course, this horse wasn’t actually found.
That morning, as he was leaving, he had run into Ji Chen. At the time, Ji Chen, sporting dark circles under his eyes, had cheerfully led a horse over, claiming it was specially prepared for Qiao Shili and insisting on joining Su Zhuoguang to meet her.
Without a word, Su Zhuoguang took advantage of Ji Chen’s breakfast break, quietly led the horse away by himself.
Naturally, he had no intention of sharing these details with Qiao Shili.
Thus, he could only change the subject. “Fenglai has identified the assassin.”
Hearing this, Qiao Shili focused her thoughts. “He’s someone from the Eastern Palace, isn’t he? And likely the Crown Prince’s personal guard.”
Considering how freely the assassin had moved through the villa, he must not only be from the Eastern Palace but also possess considerable martial arts skills. Otherwise, Su Zhuoguang would have identified him when he stormed into the villa.
Su Zhuoguang nodded. “His name is Luo Qi, a close guard of the Crown Prince.”
Although he didn’t understand why the Crown Prince’s guard would want to harm Qiao Shili, he sensed there was more to the story.
“The lightness skill he used to escape that night was distinctive, but to cover his tracks, he hasn’t used it recently. You bit him, leaving a mark. Many martial artists wear wrist guards, so even if his hand was injured, he could hide it.”
Su Zhuoguang continued calmly, “However, this person is sensitive to heat. While in the capital, he indeed used wrist guards to conceal the bite mark. But on the way to Mount Jiunu, he removed them. Perhaps the heat and humidity of the forest became unbearable.”
“Him removing the wrist guards means he wasn’t afraid of exposing himself. But within half a day, he put them back on,” Su Zhuoguang concluded.
He didn’t know that Qiao Shili’s trip to Mount Jiunu had been arranged at the last minute.
Therefore, the assassin had thought it safe to let his guard down and remove the wrist guards, only to learn mid-journey from the Crown Prince that Qiao Shili had come up the mountain after all, prompting him to hastily put them back on.
But she have no grudge against this guard. Why would he want to harm her? She guessed this must be connected to Fang Yaoyao. Perhaps he was the one who, in her past life, had worn the Crown Prince’s clothes to impersonate Qin Shuo at the princess’s estate.
Lost in her tangled thoughts, Qiao Shili glanced at Su Zhuoguang, who was patiently waiting nearby, and spoke up. “I must thank Young General Su for this. When I return home, I will definitely repay your kindness.”
Repay him? How does she plan to do that?
He turned his head to look at the girl on horseback, who had solemnly declared her intention to repay him.
Help him with his sword? Her slender arms look so delicate they might not even be able to lift the blade.
Help him feed the horses? With Yefeng’s terrible temper, he’d probably kick her and cause internal injuries.
Or… help him deal with that chatterbox, Ji Chen?
Su Zhuoguang thought that might actually work. Last night, he had seen Ji Chen staring at Qiao Shili, grinning from ear to ear, too occupied to speak.
But she seems somewhat afraid of Ji Chen, so that’s not feasible either.
Lost in thought, Su Zhuoguang couldn’t come up with a suitable answer, so he simply asked her, “Now that the assassin’s identity is confirmed, what do you plan to…”
Before he could finish, Fenglai hurried over. “Young Master, someone is coming.”
Qiao Shili’s heart tightened. Just as she was about to dismount, a deep voice spoke, “Don’t move. Keep going.”
Keep going? Keep going with what?
As she hesitated, she saw Su Zhuoguang gently pat the horse’s back and immediately understood.
No matter who was approaching, she had no reason to feel guilty. She was here legitimately today, simply borrowing Young General Su’s horse to practice riding—nothing improper about that.
Su Zhuoguang then left her where she was and walked out of the woods alone. In the distance, he saw a large group of guards surrounding a figure wearing a purple-gold crown and a crimson python robe—Crown Prince Qin Shuo.
“Young General Su, what a coincidence.”
**